FDA Catches Diet Product Cheaters!

FDA Recalling of Dietary Supplements Containing Undeclared Sibutramine…ABC Beauty Supply International, Inc. and FDA notified consumers and healthcare professionals of a recall of 34 dietary supplement products. FDA lab analyses identified undeclared sibutramine, an FDA-approved drug, used as an appetite suppressant for weight loss. FDA advises that these products pose a threat to consumers because sibutramine is known to substantially increase blood pressure and/or pulse rate in some patients and may present a significant risk for patients with a history of coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, arrhythmias or stroke. Read the complete MedWatch Safety Summary, including a link to the firm press release, at: http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2009/safety09.htm#ABC .

Our Analysis and What You Might Miss From Reading the Above: The scenario above is unfortunately quite common in the health food/ supplement industry. A contract manufacturer, in this case ABC Beauty Supply International Inc., making 34 seperate products under seperate brand names, yet they all come from the same company and have the same drug component inside them that is not listed on the label.

Therefore, making the product adultered under the US Food and Dietary Guidelines and UNSAFE to you, the consumer. The issue at stake here is that a prescriptive drug was used to enhance the weight loss results of supposedly all-natural weight-loss products, and this was NOT disclosed on the label! Very scary, isn’t it!?

Unfortunately, for the unsuspecting consumer, a vast majority of health food supplements are contract-manufactured, including probiotics! We definitely never recommend purchasing a probiotic supplement unless you know the product is researched, formulated, manufactured, and sold by the same company.

For the full list of recalled products and the company’s press release, visit the link above.